When I
first started working in the late 1980s, I was assigned to manage Central
Pahang. With five dealerships under my care, each separated by an hour to
ninety minutes of driving, except for two that were closer together between
Mentakab and Temerloh, I spent a significant portion of my life behind the
wheel.
While
many would have complained about the isolation and the distance, I chose to ask
a different question: “What can I gain from this?” At that time, we didn't have
the luxury of podcasts, YouTube, or digital platforms. We had cassette tapes. I
began collecting learning tapes, educational talks, and political discussions.
I even read books on management and sales, recorded my own voice and thoughts
onto cassettes, and replayed them while driving.
Those
long, solitary hours on the road effectively became my classroom.
Today, we
face a different kind of road fatigue. Traffic congestion in Kuala Lumpur,
Penang, and Johor is a harsh, frustrating, and structural reality. This is why
initiatives like the “Bangun KL” campaign by Hannah Yeoh have drawn such strong
reactions. Encouraging people to wake up earlier with the incentive of
discounted coffee sounds simple. Perhaps too simple.
On the
ground, many Malaysians are already doing exactly that. We know people leaving
home at 5:30 AM, those commuting daily from Seremban to KL, and motorcyclists
braving long distances just to get to work. This is not a problem waiting to be
solved by a cheaper cup of coffee. To be fair, calling such an approach “naive”
may be harsh. A better word would be: simplistic. And that is where the
disconnect lies.
But let
us shift the lens.
If traffic congestion is structural and will take time to fix, perhaps the more powerful question is not, “How do we eliminate traffic immediately?” But rather, “How do we make better use of the time we are already stuck in it?” Unlike the 1980s, we now have an abundance of knowledge at our fingertips through podcasts, lectures, and audiobooks from the brightest minds in the world. Just yesterday, during my hour-long drive from Batu Ferringhi to Seberang Perai, I listened to a full lecture from a brilliant professor. And another hour on the way back! That is the shift.
Imagine
if every Malaysian stuck in traffic for two to three hours a day chose to learn
something. Management. Leadership. Emotional intelligence. Or even niche
interests like botany and history.
And this
is not confined only to those driving cars. Even on a motorbike, with proper
care and safety, one can listen. On the bus, on the train, the same applies. The
point is simple. Whatever mode of transport we use, we can find a way to turn
that time into something meaningful. To learn, to reflect, and to grow.
I am not
suggesting that we ignore the structural problem of traffic. We must address
it. It must be studied properly and tackled in our national plans, including
the next Rancangan Malaysia, with a multidisciplinary and more holistic
approach. However, today, we must also do what we can within our current
reality. Complaining does not help. We must ask ourselves, within this
situation, within these constraints, how can I make the best of it?
This is
the way forward. To identify the niche areas we can act on, even when it seems
like little can be done. Because there is always something positive that can be
done. Over time, this practice transforms not just individuals, but the nation.
A traffic jam becomes a moving university. A daily frustration becomes a daily
investment.
This is
about building a conscious habit of turning idle time into learning time.
Habits, once formed, do not stay with us alone. If our children see us using
traffic to learn and reflect rather than mindlessly scrolling, they will grow
up believing that continuous learning is the norm.
This is
the deeper alternative. Not cheaper coffee. But deeper thinking. Not waking up
earlier just to sit longer in traffic. But using that time to grow.
We may be
trapped in traffic. But we do not have to be trapped in our minds.
Peace,
Anas Zubedy
Penang.
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